Beverages to be distributed at a tap are typically provided and stored using pressurized containers and are connected to the tap using a conduit, such as a hose. Accordingly, when the tap is opened, the pressure in the pressurized container pushes the beverage stored in the container through the hose into the tap. However, when fluid is released to the tap, the pressure level will drop, as some of the internal pressure in the container has been relieved.
Accordingly, a system is needed to provide a pressurized fluid, such as a gas to the beverage container in order to maintain internal pressure in the container. Further, the gasses used to pressurize the container may also be used to infuse carbonation into a beverage, and the use of different gasses may provide different types or levels of carbonation. Accordingly, different gasses may be used to pressurize different drinks. For example, carbon dioxide may be used for some drinks, such as those requiring high level of carbonation, while nitrogen, or a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, may be used for other drinks requiring lighter carbonation.
Further, some drinks require no carbonation but do require aeration while others require no carbonation or aeration. For example, most shaken drinks and all stirred drinks typically require no carbonation. However, shaken drinks require aeration while stirred drinks require no aeration. Accordingly, pure nitrogen may be used to provide aeration with no carbonation.
Accordingly, when serving multiple beverages that require different levels or types of carbonation from taps, a user may require multiple systems for managing the different gasses or gas mixtures used to pressurize the different beverages. This is exacerbated when using a portable beverage system, since users may require different tanks and setups for each individual beverage.
Further, when serving mixed drinks using taps, rather than beer, the ingredients of mixed drinks tend to settle in storage containers. Users typically address this by shaking the storage container before distributing drinks. However, shaking the storage container is time consuming and results in unpredictable and uneven results. Accordingly, using a tap based system to distribute mixed drinks becomes impractical without sacrificing quality or the time benefits of a tap.
Further, mixed drinks are typically served either shaken or stirred. A shaken drink is shaken with ice to provide chilling, dilution, and aeration. Shaking the storage container will provide none of these effects, and therefore the approach of shaking the storage container to mix the contents of the container will not produce a shaken drink. Similarly, there is no analog to produce a stirred drink in a container.
Accordingly, there is a need for a portable apparatus to more easily select a fluid or a fluid mixture to use to pressurize beverages in a tap system. There is a further need for such an apparatus that is portable, and that is incorporated into a system that can produce shaken or stirred drinks automatically.